David Gilmour's two concerts assembled for
Live at Pompeii mark the first time that the amphitheater has hosted a rock gig since
Pink Floyd played there in 1971. They didn't play for an audience, however, they were filmed for Adrian Maben's documentary Pink Floyd: Live at Pompeii.
Gilmour's gigs -- some 45 years after
Floyd -- bests their gig historically: It hosted a paying audience assembled from all over the globe, and it was the first time an audience had occupied the site since 79 AD. This double-disc set is the movie's soundtrack. Pompeii was just one of the historic sites
Gilmour played on the tour, others included amphitheaters in Verona and Nîmes, Circus Maximus in Rome, a chateau in Chantilly, and five nights at London's Royal Albert Hall, none of which held quite the weight of history like this one. Accompanied by a sextet that included keyboardist
Chuck Leavell, bassist
Guy Pratt, and a trio of backing vocalists, the repertoire is heavy on material from the guitarist's Rattle That Lock -- the album he was touring at the time, 2006's
On an Island -- and
Pink Floyd material in all of its incarnations.
The sound is excellent, and
Gilmour is obviously inspired. One of the many highlights is an electrifying performance of "One of These Days" at the close of disc one. The only song here that was also performed in 1971, it features
Gilmour just tearing it up on slide guitar. Most of the rest of the first disc spends its real estate on tunes from Rattle That Lock, all of them more kinetic and impassioned than their studio counterparts -- especially the gorgeous take of "Faces of Stone." There are also excellent versions of
Pink Floyd's "Great Gig in the Sky" (preferable to the one
Roger Waters tours) and "Wish You Were Here." "Money" is also included but its workmanlike run-through could have easily been left off without consequence. Thankfully, a nine-plus-minute version of "High Hopes," from the band's 1994 album
The Division Bell, offsets it. Disc two boasts a 12- and-a-half minute version of "Shine on You Crazy Diamond (Pts. 1-5)" as an opener. Its gradual pace over an extended intro creates expectation and delivers in spades. It's followed by "Fat Old Sun" from 1970's
Atom Heart Mother. Its breezy acoustic lyric base gives way to a heavier yet more lyrical electric guitar solo than the original. "Coming Back to Life" (
The Division Bell) is imbued with energy and cautious optimism as it gives way to a screaming take of "On an Island." The final three tracks are all
Floyd classics: "Run Like Hell" (
The Wall) with excellent improvised guitar pyrotechnics, a dynamic "Time"/"Breathe (In the Air)," and the majestic closer "Comfortably Numb," which sprawls over ten minutes.
Live at Pompeii might be better served with its video counterpart due to the stunning visuals created by Marc Brickman, but on its own, this set offers ample pleasure. ~ Thom Jurek